You’re receiving Monthly Moments because you’re part of the GOTR Alumni Community. Each month, you’ll get a quick, 2-minute read filled with inspiration and tools to bring a little GOTR spirit and intention to your month.

Joy in Movement

Life gets busy, and it’s easy to forget that movement is meant to be joyful. This month, we invite you to bring back the wild, the joy, and the spark to your movement.

As adults, many of us think about movement differently than we did as kids. We track steps, sign up for classes with goals in mind, or focus on the mental health benefits of staying active. None of that is bad—but shifting our focus from what we do to how it makes us feel can be powerful.

Most of us remember the carefree thrill of moving just for fun—new, exciting, giggle-inducing, or simply joyful. Think back: when did movement make you feel larger than life? Was it the joy you felt when you...

Jumped off a diving board for the first time?
Sprinted full speed in a game of tag?
Finally sank that first basketball shot?

What did that joy look like for you when you were younger?

Did you know one of the best predictors of just how good for you any form of exercise is, is how much you enjoy it?

A 2023 study found that exercise is more beneficial when we do it with people we like and another found that when participants actually enjoyed the movement they were participating in, they were more likely to keep doing it. These study findings seem obvious, but how many of us have sweated through a new exercise program we hated just because we felt like we *should* be exercising?

This month, we invite you to try one of these simple practices to rediscover the joy in movement—the same joy we see in Girls on the Run participants every day!

Which will you try first?

Turn up the tunes and dance! Find a playlist of your middle or high school favorites and dance through your morning routine. Or try out a GOTR playlist to get moving with joy.
Stretch it out! Wake up your body with a 10-minute stretch or yoga flow (try Yoga with Adriene), or loosen up with a fun kids’ stretch video full of wiggles and bends like this one.
Play like a kid! Join the fun with a kid in your life—slide, chase, and dive into hide-and-seek tag until you’re both out of breath. Need inspiration? Here is a list of classic games to play with kids.
Try something new! Switch up your routine with a class you’ve always been curious about—Pilates, kickboxing, or even swap out morning yoga for sunset Zumba. Or check out your local community center for a recreational league like volleyball or softball to stay active and meet new people.

Joy grows when it’s shared. Think back to the last time movement made you smile without trying. Tell that story to someone in your life and ask them to share theirs. You might just spark each other’s next joyful move.

Where were you?
What were you doing?
Who were you with?

Joy is contagious. If something above made you smile, forward this to a friend and try something together—something light, curious, or just a little bit brave. The wild joy is still there—sometimes it just takes a buddy to bring it back.

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